


Rain

by draculard



Series: Pellaeon/Thrawn 30 Day Ficlets [7]
Category: Star Wars Legends: Thrawn Trilogy - Timothy Zahn
Genre: Fluff, M/M, New Relationship, Pellaeon's thinly disguised lack of interest in art
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:48:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26280670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/draculard/pseuds/draculard
Summary: “Are you studying this for military purposes, sir?” he asked. “Or for entertainment?”The carefully blank look Thrawn gave him was all the answer he needed.
Relationships: Gilad Pellaeon/Thrawn | Mitth’raw’nuruodo
Series: Pellaeon/Thrawn 30 Day Ficlets [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1904581
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Rain

The holo shimmered in the darkness of Thrawn’s command room; cascades of rain twisted together, forming a graceful shape that Pellaeon couldn’t quite name. He studied it for a moment longer than he really wanted to, feigning interest, and then — when his mental countdown ran out — turned to Thrawn.

Who was still staring, fascinated, at the sculpture.

“Sir?” said Pellaeon.

Thrawn looked at him, registered the lack of awe on Pellaeon’s face, and seemed to adjust his own expression accordingly. He glanced at the sculpture and forced his features into neutral. 

“Do you recognize the people who made this sculpture, Captain?” he asked.

As if he _ever_ recognized the people. Pellaeon studied the sculpture again, not really expecting to find more clues. “No, sir,” he said eventually.

Thrawn nodded as if he’d expected no less. “This is a Velliskan rain sculpture,” he said, keying something into his datapad. He handed the display over to Pellaeon, who scanned it quickly, absorbing what seemed like the most important details. “For three months of the year, their planet is beset by widespread monsoons,” Thrawn said, his eyes fixed on the sculpture once again. “Yet their primary religion worships a rain god depicted not as a threat but as a benefactor.”

“I see,” said Pellaeon, handing the datapad back. He studied Thrawn’s face for a moment, trying to read him. 

“You’re not interested,” Thrawn said without even glancing Pellaeon’s way.

Pellaeon blinked. “I don't — that is, of course I’m—”

Thrawn turned his head just enough to give him a dry look and Pellaeon felt the lie die on his lips.

“Well, art isn’t my forte, sir,” he said delicately. He put his palms on Thrawn’s desk and leaned forward, trying to force at least some small spark of interest into his heart. Still, the rain sculpture looked as vaguely pretty and … honestly, quite dull, as before. He squeezed his eyes closed and then opened them wide, as if that might help him concentrate, but he still couldn’t see what Thrawn found so fascinating about it.

Abruptly, Thrawn leaned forward and shut off the display. “It’s quite alright, Gilad,” he said. The sudden switch to his first name plus the disappearance of the holo left Pellaeon feeling dazed. He straightened up slowly, shooting Thrawn a suspicious look. 

“Are you studying this for military purposes, sir?” he asked. “Or for entertainment?”

The carefully blank look Thrawn gave him was all the answer he needed.

“What’s so special about it, then?” Pellaeon asked, crossing his arms — since Thrawn had called him Gilad, he supposed he could get away with some less-than-formal posture. “Don’t they have rain where you’re from?”

Thrawn’s blank expression flickered. “No, as a matter of fact,” he said. “It snows frequently. It does not rain.”

In the silence that followed, he reached forward and flicked the holo-display on again. The rain sculpture shimmered between them, obscuring Pellaeon’s view of Thrawn’s face. 

“Have you ever been on a planet where it does rain?” Pellaeon asked. Clearly, there was something about rain that fascinated Thrawn; whether it was the novelty or a sense of curiosity or what, Pellaeon didn’t know.

“Certainly, I have,” said Thrawn. “But not while it was raining.”

A beat of silence.

“You’ve never seen the rain in real life?” Pellaeon asked.

Thrawn’s eyes shifted over to him. “No. Have you?”

Pellaeon frowned. “Yes, many times. It’s common on Corellia. And most other inhabited planets in the Empire.”

“Ah.” Thrawn turned back to his holo and said nothing else. When Pellaeon tilted his head, he could see the blue lines of the rain sculpture reflecting off Thrawn’s red eyes — and he could see the same red glow bisecting the lines of the holo in turn. He watched for a moment, appreciating this view more than he’d ever appreciated any of Thrawn’s art holos, and then he flicked his datapad on and pulled up a starmap.

“Hmm,” he said, studying the planets nearby. He felt Thrawn watching him out of the corner of his eye. Ignoring the admiral for a moment, Pellaeon selected a few different planets in turn and scanned their feedout. 

When he looked up, he met Thrawn’s eyes with a smile.

“Feel like taking a visit planet-side tomorrow, sir?” he asked.

* * *

The next day, they stood outside their shuttle in ill-fitting Imperial-issue ponchos; the slick, plastic material weighed both of them down and seemed to get heavier and heavier the longer they stood in the rain. Beside Pellaeon, Thrawn stood with his face angled up toward the sky, his hair plastered to his forehead and droplets of water streaming down his face.

The rain was coming down so hard that it seemed to bounce off the synstone landing platform. Thrawn’s eyes cast about, taking in the dark skies, the howling wind, the cold water lashing into his skin. Gradually, he turned his head until he met Pellaeon’s gaze.

“This is rain?” he asked.

“It’s more like a torrential downpour, sir,” said Pellaeon, wiping his face. Thrawn digested this with a tiny nod and turned to watch the rain again.

“This is miserable,” he said.


End file.
